Talk:Tommy DeVito (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article must adhere to the policy on biographies of living persons. Controversial material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted or if there are other concerns relative to this policy, report it on the living persons biographies noticeboard.

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.	Biography Portal
Stub	This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]
	This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed biographical guide to musicians and musical groups on Wikipedia.

	This article is part of WikiProject Guitarists, a group dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to guitarists. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
???	This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale.

[edit] Tommy's Date of Birth

There have been several edits back and forth regarding Tommy DeVito's date of birth. The conventional wisdom, culled primarily from label PR during the group's heyday, has him as being born in the mid-30's. In actuality, Tommy (currently alive and well and living in Vegas) is 77, and was born in 1928.Yorker 05:10, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

There is no question that Tommy was born in 1928, and the date given in this article is inaccurate, based on record label publicity back in the 60's. The liner notes for the Four Lovers CD and many interviews with Tommy acknowledge his birthday as 1928. This article should be updated for accuracy. There is an interview here with Tommy DeVito here which mentions his correct birthdate: http://jerseyboysblog.com/?p=970.

[edit] Why Tommy Left the Group

A well-meaning but over-protective fan edited out a whole couple of paragraphs on why the band broke up and Tommy left the group. While it was all hushed up at the time, eveyone has since come to terms with it, and indeed they (all of the living members) have collaborated on the new hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys, which lays it out pretty explicitly...and was written from Tommy's own (as yet unpublished) autobiography. So, I'm reverting that edit and returning the details, which are accurate, acknowledged by the participants, and in no way detract from Tommy DeVito's musicianship, nor from his deserved enshrinment in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Yorker 05:10, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Actually, this is one of the aspects of Jersey Boys which is incorrect. Tommy did not leave the group due to mob debts. His decision to leave was his own. The debt problems did not surface until AFTER he had already left the group. Jersey Boys simply compressed the timeline. Whereas, Jersey Boys is a semi-biographical play that also includes some "dramatic additions," it should not be referred to for historical factual support.